Domaine Rouge-Bleu (DRB)

We had a chance last week to spend a couple of nights with Thomas and Caroline, the lovely new owners at Domaine Rouge-Bleu ("DRB," not to be confused with "DRC"!). All of us were extremely impressed by the warm hospitality, and the beautiful wines. Most of the domaine's vineyards were planted in 1955, meaning the plants are able to fully ripen the stems which are thus included in the fermentation - imparting structure, complexity, and cellar-ability. We love the packaging update on the 2011 Mistral (and the wine is absolutely gorgeous!). 

Thomas, and his wife Caroline, have taken over principle ownership and management of DRB. Here Thomas walks through their lovely, stony syrah vineyard. 

Another DRB vineyard shot

The Lunatique parcel - gnarly 100 year old bastards!! They loose a few plants every year...Lunatique will be even more scarce! 

The barrel room conveniently houses a bed...perfect for putting up tired pickers, or in this case, letting a few bottles of 2010 Mistral repose peacefully with a corkscrew. 

A glorious view of the Dentelles de Montmirail range: pure limestone bedrock that was forced straight up 90º by two tectonic plates crashing into one another, now standing watch over Gigondas, Vacqueyras, plus more distant appellations of the southern Rhone Valley. The picnic table at DRB is just the place to enjoy the view, with a glass of delicious Rouge-Bleu rosé in hand and maybe some ratatouille, why not? 

Thomas finished a day of plowing, parked the tractor, took a shower, and was still so covered in dust and dirt that he could raise a cloud by smacking his leg with a hand. Might have to lather, rinse, and repeat next time! 

A close up view of the family tractor's bumper sticker. I love it! 

Family meal at DRB with our little group included skewers of beef and sausages done on the grill, potato salad, and couscous. I feel like Thomas and Caroline must have been pretty lonesome for us when we left. Not for long however: they are expecting their own little bundle of joy in June/July!! 

Grati Chianti again

No photo opp, no travel data, just a quick message to say how happy I am with the Grati 2012 Chianti that arrived last week...it is just perfect. Thank you Gualberto!!

The Rock Burglar

Last November, Massimo Alois (Fattoria Alois) accompanied me on a trip in Tuscany and Le Marche, in part because he wanted to add soil and rock samples to his growing collection of "terroir" from around the world. Massimo has samples from Napa Valley, the Mosel, Finger Lakes district in NYC, and even the St Croix River Valley in Minnesota, displayed in jars at his winery in Pontelatone, near Caserta, in Campania. After our recent trip in France, he can add Le Montrachet (pictured above), Romanée Conti, plus vineyard sites in Cornas, Brouilly, Côtes de Jura, Châteauneuf du Pape, and others. By the end of the trip, the suspension on the little car rented by his buddy Giovanni (our van was too small for 6 people, after Giovanni arrived midway through the trip) was showing signs of ...mmm...stress. 

Chassagne-Montrachet: Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot

A teaching moment: Laurent Pillot discusses vine pests and bud development in his 0.37 hectare parcel of 1º Cru Grandes Ruchottes. Laurent produces wines from 22 appellations in 7 villages (Chassagne-Montrechet, Puligny-Montrechet, Beane, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Santenay), a whopping 54 separate parcels, covering a mere 15 hectares. According to Laurent, the Premier Cru Grandes Ruchottes was once considered for Grand Cru status, and has a terroir comparable to Le Montrachet. He considers it, in his understated manner, "one of the best 1º Cru" of Chassagne. We tasted through his delicious range last week and were stunned by the precision of the wines. The 2005 Pommard 1º Cru Les Charmots he brought to dinner at the Auberge du Vieux Vigneron in Corpeau showed the quality of this vintage and the age-worthy quality of his wines - something I've been fortunate to have experienced many times now, tasting as far back as the spectacular 1993 Chassagne-Montrachet 1º Cru Vide-Bourse (blanc), tasted in November 2008. 

France, April 2014

Just spent a lovely nine days touring Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Jura, and the Rhone Valley, with Fred Petters (our Minnesota sales manager),  Rick Anderson (France 44 Wine and Spirits, Minneapolis), Peter Vars (Thomas Liquors, St Paul), and Massimo Alois (Fattoria Alois, Campania, Italy - supplier, friend, and terroir-curious rock collector - more on that later). In the next few days, I'll share some of our adventures. This photo is a selfie of the five of us. From left to right: me, Fred (above), Massimo (below), Peter, Rick. Taken in the courtyard at the Hôtel-Dieu, site of the famous Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction which occurs annually, on the 3rd Sunday of November.